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Today I used Peter Golenbock’s Teammates for a lesson on inferencing themes with my 6th graders. I had never read Teammates before this week and I had no idea I was missing out on such a great book!

Teammates is the story of baseball player Jackie Robinson’s friendship with PeeWee Reese, a teammate who risked his career (and possibly his life) to stand up for Jackie when he joined the Dodgers. Golenbock looks at a single moment in American history and turns it into a gorgeous narrative. The story is illustrated in paintings and photographs. The story is powerful and timely- one that every student should hear.

The subject of baseball, Jackie Robinson, and segregation is one that appeals to all of my students, and especially the boys. They were thrilled that we were reading such a “cool” picture book. And it lent itself so well to the lesson I had planned on inferring themes! I highly recommend this one for all ages.